AMD Radeon Pro W6800X vs NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation Comparison

The NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation and AMD Radeon Pro W6800X are both high-end workstation graphics cards, yet they represent fundamentally different design philosophies and performance profiles. The data indicates that while both sit in the top 3% of all GPUs (97th percentile), their benchmark results and architectural characteristics diverge sharply. This analysis compares the two based strictly on the benchmark database information, focusing on measurable performance, physical attributes, and technical specifications.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct head-to-head benchmark available in the database is Geekbench OpenCL, and the result is a decisive victory for the NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation. In this compute-oriented test, the NVIDIA card scores 160,786 points against the AMD Radeon Pro W6800X’s 124,498 points. This represents a 29.1% advantage for the NVIDIA card, a substantial gap that underscores significant differences in raw compute throughput. The RTX 4500 Ada Generation’s FP32 performance of 39.63 TFLOPS, which is more than double the AMD card’s 16.03 TFLOPS, aligns with this benchmark result. While the AMD card does have a higher FP16 rating at 32.06 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio) compared to the NVIDIA card’s 39.63 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio), the OpenCL workload appears to favor the NVIDIA architecture’s raw FP32 power.

Looking at the broader average benchmark scores, the RTX 4500 Ada Generation maintains a lead. Its average benchmark score is 166,094, while the AMD Radeon Pro W6800X trails at 160,671. This translates to a 3.3% difference in average score, with the NVIDIA card positioned ahead. The database’s nearest rival data contextualizes this gap further. For the RTX 4500 Ada Generation, the AMD Radeon Pro W6900X is 1.5% ahead, while the NVIDIA RTX A5500 is 0.5% behind, and the AMD Radeon PRO W7800 is 0.7% behind. In contrast, the Radeon Pro W6800X sits 3.3% behind the RTX 4500 Ada Generation, 2.8% behind the RTX A5500, and 2.6% behind the Radeon PRO W7800. It is also 1.1% behind the NVIDIA A100 PCIe 40 GB. This positioning shows that the AMD card is at the lower end of its performance peer group, while the NVIDIA card is near the top, just trailing the W6900X.

The win count reinforces this narrative: the RTX 4500 Ada Generation has 1 win in the head-to-head benchmarks, while the Radeon Pro W6800X has 0 wins. The Vulkan score for the NVIDIA card is 171,401, and its OpenCL score is 160,786; both are higher than the AMD card’s OpenCL score of 124,498, though the AMD card does have a strong Metal score of 196,844, which is not directly comparable in this head-to-head context. The data shows that for most general-purpose compute tasks, the NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation is the faster card by a significant margin.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation has a higher average benchmark score of 166,094, compared to the AMD Radeon Pro W6800X’s 160,671. This gives the NVIDIA card a 3.3% lead over the AMD card.

Q: How do the two cards compare in the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation scores 160,786, while the AMD Radeon Pro W6800X scores 124,498. The NVIDIA card wins this test with a 29.1% higher score.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference between the two?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro W6800X has a larger memory capacity of 32 GB GDDR6 with a 256-bit bus and 512.0 GB/s bandwidth. The NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation has 24 GB GDDR6 with a 192-bit bus and 432.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card has a higher transistor density?

A: The NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation has a much higher transistor density of 121.1M / mm², due to its 5 nm process node and 45,900 million transistors on a 379 mm² die. The AMD card has 51.5M / mm², packing 26,800 million transistors on a larger 520 mm² die using a 7 nm process.

Q: Are both GPUs in the same performance percentile?

A: Yes, both the NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation and the AMD Radeon Pro W6800X are in the 97th percentile of all GPUs, indicating that both are high-end parts, even though their raw scores differ.

Q: What is the production status of each card?

A: The NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation is marked as “Active” in production, while the AMD Radeon Pro W6800X is listed as “End-of-life.”

Architecture Differences

The architectural chasm between these two GPUs is stark, starting with the fabrication process. The NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation is built on a 5 nm process at TSMC, while the AMD Radeon Pro W6800X uses a 7 nm process, also at TSMC. This process advantage allows the NVIDIA chip, codenamed AD103, to pack 45,900 million transistors onto a 379 mm² die. In contrast, the AMD chip, Navi 21, contains 26,800 million transistors on a much larger 520 mm² die. The resulting transistor density difference is significant: 121.1M / mm² for NVIDIA versus 51.5M / mm² for AMD.

The compute architectures are also entirely different generations. The NVIDIA card uses the Ada Lovelace architecture, part of the Workstation Ada generation, while the AMD card is based on RDNA 2.0, part of the Radeon Pro Mac (Navi II Series) generation. This is reflected in the core counts. The NVIDIA GPU has 7,680 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. It also includes 60 RT cores and 240 tensor cores. The AMD GPU has fewer shading units at 3,840, but the same number of TMUs at 240, and more ROPs at 96. It also has 60 RT cores, but no tensor cores at all.

These core configurations lead to dramatically different compute ratings. The NVIDIA card’s FP32 throughput is 39.63 TFLOPS, while the AMD card is at 16.03 TFLOPS. However, the AMD card has a higher FP16 rating of 32.06 TFLOPS (2:1) compared to the NVIDIA card’s 39.63 TFLOPS (1:1), suggesting that the AMD architecture is more efficient at half-precision workloads when using its dedicated rate. The clock speeds also differ, with the NVIDIA card boosting to 2580 MHz and the AMD card boosting to 2087 MHz.

The physical design and interface are major differentiators as well. The NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation is a dual-slot card with a PCIe 4.0 x16 bus interface and no additional power connectors, drawing 210 W. The AMD Radeon Pro W6800X is a quad-slot card that uses an Apple MPX bus interface and power connector, drawing 200 W. The display outputs also differ: the NVIDIA card has 4x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the AMD card has 1x HDMI 2.1 and 4x Thunderbolt, reflecting its Mac-specific design.

The Verdict

Based on the benchmark data, the NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation is the clear performance winner. In the only direct comparison, it is 29.1% faster in Geekbench OpenCL. Its average benchmark score is 3.3% higher than the AMD card, and it sits closer to the top of its rival group, being only 1.5% behind the AMD Radeon Pro W6900X. The NVIDIA card also has a significant advantage in FP32 compute (39.63 TFLOPS vs 16.03 TFLOPS), which is a key metric for many professional workloads.

The AMD Radeon Pro W6800X does have its strengths. It offers 32 GB of memory, which is 8 GB more than the NVIDIA card, and a higher memory bandwidth of 512.0 GB/s versus 432.0 GB/s. It also has a higher FP16 rating (32.06 TFLOPS vs 39.63 TFLOPS, though the NVIDIA card has a higher absolute number). However, these advantages do not translate to better performance in the OpenCL benchmark.

Users should pick the NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation if they prioritize raw compute performance, as evidenced by the 29.1% lead in OpenCL and the higher FP32 throughput. It is also the more modern part, being listed as Active while the AMD card is End-of-life. Users should pick the AMD Radeon Pro W6800X only if they require the larger 32 GB memory pool or have a system that specifically requires the Apple MPX interface. For general workstation tasks, the data strongly favors the NVIDIA card.

Specification Differences

The following specifications differ between the NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation and the AMD Radeon Pro W6800X:

• Series: GeForce 40-series (NVIDIA) vs None (AMD).
• Chip: AD103 (NVIDIA) vs Navi 21 (AMD).
• Architecture: Ada Lovelace (NVIDIA) vs RDNA 2.0 (AMD).
• Generation: Workstation Ada (NVIDIA) vs Radeon Pro Mac (Navi II Series) (AMD).
• Process Node: 5 nm (NVIDIA) vs 7 nm (AMD).
• Transistors: 45,900 million (NVIDIA) vs 26,800 million (AMD).
• Die Size: 379 mm² (NVIDIA) vs 520 mm² (AMD).
• Transistor Density: 121.1M / mm² (NVIDIA) vs 51.5M / mm² (AMD).
• Base Clock: 2070 MHz (NVIDIA) vs 1800 MHz (AMD).
• Boost Clock: 2580 MHz (NVIDIA) vs 2087 MHz (AMD).
• Memory Clock: 2250 MHz / 18 Gbps effective (NVIDIA) vs 2000 MHz / 16 Gbps effective (AMD).
• Memory Size: 24 GB (NVIDIA) vs 32 GB (AMD).
• Memory Bus Width: 192 bit (NVIDIA) vs 256 bit (AMD).
• Memory Bandwidth: 432.0 GB/s (NVIDIA) vs 512.0 GB/s (AMD).
• Shading Units: 7680 (NVIDIA) vs 3840 (AMD).
• ROPs: 80 (NVIDIA) vs 96 (AMD).
• Tensor Cores: 240 (NVIDIA) vs None (AMD).
• Pixel Rate: 206.4 GPixel/s (NVIDIA) vs 200.4 GPixel/s (AMD).
• Texture Rate: 619.2 GTexel/s (NVIDIA) vs 500.9 GTexel/s (AMD).
• FP32 Performance: 39.63 TFLOPS (NVIDIA) vs 16.03 TFLOPS (AMD).
• FP16 Performance: 39.63 TFLOPS (1:1) (NVIDIA) vs 32.06 TFLOPS (2:1) (AMD).
• TDP: 210 W (NVIDIA) vs 200 W (AMD).
• Slot Width: Dual-slot (NVIDIA) vs Quad-slot (AMD).
• Power Connectors: None (NVIDIA) vs Apple MPX (AMD).
• Bus Interface: PCIe 4.0 x16 (NVIDIA) vs Apple MPX (AMD).
• Display Outputs: 4x DisplayPort 1.4a (NVIDIA) vs 1x HDMI 2.1, 4x Thunderbolt (AMD).
• Dimensions (Length): 245 mm (NVIDIA) vs 267 mm (AMD).
• Dimensions (Height): 112 mm (NVIDIA) vs 120 mm (AMD).
• Production Status: Active (NVIDIA) vs End-of-life (AMD).
• Release Date: 2023-08-08 (NVIDIA) vs 2021-08-02 (AMD).
• Launch MSRP: None (NVIDIA) vs 2,799 USD (AMD).